Carton spout

ABSTRACT

A structure of a dispenser spout built in a carton which keeps the dispenser spout closed while not in use, wherein a means to hold securely a flap of dispensing spout capable of opening and closing freely is provided to the carton, said flap being formed by cutting a part of the carton body.

United States Patent 1191 Susuki et a1.

1451 Oct. 22, 1974 CARTON SPOUT Inventors: Rinnousuke Susuki, Tokyo; Hiroshi Hoshi, Narashino; Shinichi Araki, Tokyo; Shinzo Miyamoto, Soka; V Masao Ishii, Yachiyo, all of Japan Assignee: Lion Fiat and Oil Co., Ltd., Tokyo,

Japan Filed: May 3, 1971 Appl. No.: 139,777

Foreign Application Priority Data May 15,1970 May 15,1970 May 15, 1970 May 15, 1970 US. Cl.

llnt. Cl

Japan 45-482l4 Japan 45-48215 Japan 1 45-48216 Japan 45-48217 229/7 R, 229/51 D B65d 5/74 Field of Search... 229/7 R, 17 R, 51 D, 51 TC; 222/528 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 922,277 5/l909 Gowlng 229/7 R 2,336,706 l2/l943 Sunderhauf... 229/l7 R 2,449,046 9/1948 Barnes 229/5l D X 3,246,825 4/1966 Zastrow 229/17 R 3,484,034 12/1969 Sternau 229/7 R Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cushman, Darby & Cushman 5 7 ABSTRACT A structure of a dispenser spout built in a carton which keeps the dispenser spout closed while not in use,,wherein a means to hold securely a flap of dispensing spout capable of opening and closing freely is provided to the carton, said flap being formed by cutting a part of the carton body.

1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a structure of a dispensing spout built in a carton to be used for packaging detergents, foods, and other powdered or granular products.

It is desirable that a dispensing spout built in a carton be easy to unseal when put to use for the first time and kept closed while not in use after it has been unsealed, and do not open easily when the carton is turned over, in order to prevent the easy-to-flow contents from escaping from the carton. A dispensing spout of conventional structure, however, is kept open once it has been unsealed and is not provided with any means to prevent the contents from escaping when the carton is turned over, and moreover it is not satisfactory in strength.

In the conventional lidded dispensing spout of a carton, a construction similar to a desk drawer has been employed as a means to hold the dispensing spout securely. This construction, however, is defective in that it is difficult to pull out and push in, it iseasy to break at a pull due to drag with walls around it, and it is high in cost because of its complexity.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a dispensing spout which securely keeps closed the dispensing spout formed with ease by cutting open a part of a carton body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a dispensing spout which securely keeps the dispensing spout closed by means of a simple construction.

In the present invention, in order to keep a dispensing spout closed by fitting securely a dispensing spout flap formed by cutting open a part of a carton body to the carton body, an attached plate is stuck on the tip of the dispensing spout flap or the carton body and the flap is engaged with this attached plate, or the tip of the flap is inserted into a slit provided to the attached plate.

Therefore, the dispensing spout is securely kept closed even when the carton is turned over causing such granular contents as detergent to rush to the dispensing spout, thus preventing the contents from escaping from the carton.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a dispensing spout before unsealing in a carton according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state of punching-out of a dispensing spout flap being unsealed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a dispensing spout in an open state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a dispensing spout in a closed state.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line I-l of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 (A) and (B) are perspective views showing a structure of a dispensing spout built in a carton in another example of the invention.

FIG. 7 (A) and (B) are perspective views similar to FIG. 6 (A) and (B), showing another example of the invention.

2 FIG. 8 (A) to (C) are perspective views, similar to the above, showing further example of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. I is a perspective view showing a dispensing spout before unsealing in one example of a structure of a dispensing spout according to the invention.

There is shown in FIG. 1 a carton l, a side wall 2 of the carton I on which is formed a dispensing spout, a perforation line 3 formed on the side wall 2, a flap 4 of a dispensing spout formed by cutting open along the perforation line 3, and compressed score lines 5 and 6 formed on the outer surface of the flap 4 which facilitate folding the flap 4.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state of the dispensing spout flap, as shown in FIG. I, unsealed by punching-out, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state of the dispensing spout opened by pulling out the flap 4. In both figures, there is shown an attached plate 7 stuck on the inside of a carton body in such a manner that the tip of the flap 4 and the attached plate 7 overlap one another when the dispensing spout is closed, said compressed score line 6 being positioned adjacent the corresponding edge of the attached plate 7 and generally parallel to the same edge.

When the dispensing spout as shown in FIG. 1 is to be unsealed for the first time, the lilap 4 is pressed with a finger at a part between the score lines 5 and 6. Then, the flap 4 of the dispensing spout is cut off at the perforation line 3 from the carton body and folded as a whole into the inside of the carton. along the score line 5. At the same time the tip of the flap 4 is folded along the score line 6 solely in the outward direction by resistance of the attached plate 7 and then forced into the carton, after being slided on the edge of the attached plate 7. Therefore, it is possible to let the contents out with ease when the flap 4 is pulled outward to open the dispensing spout as shown in FIG. 3. 1

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the dispensing spout in a closed state after unsealing, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken on line I-I of FIG. 4.

Since the tip of the flap 4 is placed behind the attached plate 7 and brought into contact with the attached plate 7 when the flap 4 is forced into the carton 1, the tip of the flap 4 is held by the attached plate 7 even when the carton l is turned over causing the contents therein to rush to the dispensing spout and press the dispensing spout. Thus, the dispensing spout is securely kept closed, preventing the contents of the carton 1 from escaping.

FIG. 6 (A) and (B) show another example of the invention; (A) is a perspective view showing a dispensing spout before unsealing, and (B) is a perspective view showing the dispensing spout in a slightly opened state after unsealing. In these Figures like reference numerals designate corresponding parts that function as in the dispensing spout of the above example.

In this example, the tip of the flap 4 is protruded sideward so that the protruded part is overlapped with the attached plate 7, whereby the dispensing spout is securely kept closed when the tip of the flap 4 is forced into the carton beyond the attached plate 7. In addition, the flap 4 is opened and closed with ease because the score line 6 at the side tip of the flap 4 is formed at right angles to the score line 5.

FIG. 7 (A) and (B) show another example of the invention; (A) is a perspective view showing a dispensing spout before unsealing, and (B) is a perspective view showing the dispensing spout in an open state after unsealing. In these figures like reference numerals designate corresponding parts that function as in the above examples. The part designated by the numeral 14 is an attached plate stuck on the reverse side of the tip of the flap 4, and is slightly larger in diameter than the circular tip of the flap 4.

Opening and closing of the dispensing spout is accomplished by pivotally moving the flap 4 around the score line 5 and pushing the attached plate 14 into and out of the side 2 of the carton l.

The closing operation for the dispensing spout is accomplished by pressing with a finger the circular tip of the flap 4 to push the attached plate 14 into the sidewall 2. The opening operation for the dispensing spout is accomplished by pushing the flap 4 outward with a finger inserted behind the flap between the score lines 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 (A) is a perspective view showing further ad-' ditional example of a dispensing spout before unsealing, and (B) is a perspective view showing the dispensing spout in an open state after unsealing. In these figures like reference numerals designate corresponding parts that function as in the above examples. The part designated by the numeral 22 is a semicircular slit formed by punching or perforating on a part of the attached plate 7 where the flap 4 and the attached plate 7 are overlapped each other.

FIG. 8 (C) shows another example of the slit formed by cutting open to the T-shaped slit 22' on the attached plate 7.

In these examples the closing and opening operation for the dispensing spout is accomplished by slightly folding the tip of the flap 4 outward along the score line 6 and then inserting the tip of the flap 4 into the slip 22 or 22. During this operation the flap 4 folded at the score line 6 receives an action force which tends to further insert the flap 4 into the slit 22 or 22' due to the resilience of the flap itself, and thus the tip of the flap 4 is inserted into the slit 22 and 22 and held securely there.

As described in the above, the structure of the dispensing spout built in a carton according to the invention can prevent the contents therein from escaping from the dispensing spout when the carton is turned over, because the dispensing spout is formed in a simple way without adding special forming process, whereby the flap of the dispensing spout is securely held by the attached plate.

What is claimed is:

l. A structure of a dispensing spout built in a side wall of a carton, comprising: an attached plate stuck on the inside of said side wall; a dispensing spout flap being adapted to be opened and closed freely, and being defined by a perforation line which is formed on a predetermined region of said side wall, the tip of said flap overlapping said plate so that when the flap is opened the attached plate has an edge disposed within the opening defined by opening the flap, said flap consisting of first and second compressed score lines on the outside of said flap, said first compressed score line being formed at the base of said flap so that when said flap is opened and closed, the flap hinges about said first compressed score line, and said second compressed score line being formed on the outer surface of the tip of said flap and being positioned adjacent and generally parallel to said edge of said attached plate, said flap thereby being adapted to be folded along said second compressed score line solely in the outward direction by resistance of said attached plate and then forced into said carton, so that the tip of said flap is caused thereby to be held in contact with the inside of said attached plate, whereby said first compressed score line is formed substantially at right angles to said second compressed score line. 

1. A structure of a dispensing spout built in a side wall of a carton, comprising: an attached plate stuck on the inside of said side wall; a dispensing spout flap being adapted to be opened and closed freely, and being defined by a perforation line which is formed on a predetermined region of said side wall, the tip of said flap overlapping said plate so that when the flap is opened the attached plate has an edge disposed within the opening defined by opening the flap, said flap consisting of first and second compressed score lines on the outside of said flap, said first compressed score line being formed at the base of said flap so that when said flap is opened and closed, the flap hinges about said first compressed score line, and said second compressed score line being formed on the outer surface of the tip of said flap and being positioned adjacent and generally parallel to said edge of said attached plate, said flap thereby being adapted to be folded along said second compressed score line solely in the outward direction by resistance of said attached plate and then forced into said carton, so that the tip of said flap is caused thereby to be held in contact with the inside of said attached plate, whereby said first compressed score line is formed substantially at right angles to said second compressed score line. 